Black is usually associated with death, destruction, and other ominous things. In TEPPEN, however, Black is incorporated with death, destruction, and other omino-! Wait, WHAT?!
Anyways, yeah. Black usually relies on destroying enemy units through Actions and other nasty effects to defeat enemies. But it comes with a cost, either by paying certain amount of resources or letting yourself put into a disadvantage by destroying your own units. In short, Black is a high-risk, high-reward deck that requires careful planning and consistent card synergy to shine against most opponents. Otherwise, you would just feel like a gravedigger digging your own grave with only using a spoon as a shovel.
Today, we are going to look into some of the nastiest of the bunch. The Black Heroes. All of which are strong in their own right and have some insane gimmicks that make it a force to be reckoned with.
1. Albert Wesker (from Resident Evil)
Wielder of the Progenitor Virus, Wesker is capable of reanimating dead units which allows them to fight back from the grave. He is the first two Black Heroes that was introduced in the game and he is a powerful despot that will do whatever it takes to win... even if he has to get his hands dirty.
1.A. Dark Destruction
AP Cost: 20
Effect: Destroy an enemy unit that is 5 MP or less.
A good Hero Art that deals with significant threats as some of the more popular Units have 5 MP or less. There are tons of players that rely on 6 MP or more units however, making this Hero Art a lot less consistent. This used to have 18 AP, but due to the sheer power that this Hero Art provides, it was added 2 additional AP for balancing. Still a decent Hero Art, regardless.
2.A. Uroboros
AP Cost: 22
Effect: Returns a friendly unit with the highest MP cost from your Graveyard to the field. Give it "<Death>: Remove this unit from the game".
THIS is what made him a very powerful unit as Black units tend to get rid of their highest MP cards through an Action card called False Throne, which snatches the Unit card with the highest MP away from your Deck and into the Graveyard. Also, it's a free summon meaning that it's already a good Hero Art. Used to be a very busted Hero Art due to the fact that you can just recycle the highest MP cards from your Graveyard with a simple swipe of this Art. Useful in gimmicky dual-colored decks that rely on high MP units.
3.A. Bringer of Nightmares (subjected to an upcoming buff)
AP Cost: 12
Effect: Brings one Unit card with <Revenge> active to your EX Pocket (Unit cards with Revenge, if destroyed, will return to the Deck instead of being sent to the Graveyard, Their MP costs are also halved and it can only be activated once. Value is rounded up for those with odd-numbered MP costs).
Post-buff
Effect: Brings one Unit card with <Revenge> active to your EX Pocket and give it -1 MP. That unit also gets +1/+1
A card that is pretty restrictive, so unless you have tons of cards with Revenge, then better avoid this. It can work with the right set-up but the effort, without any contingencies in place, is not worth the while. Hopefully the buff for the Hero Art would make it more viable.
B. Nergigante (from Monster Hunter: World)
One of the other Black Heroes introduced in TEPPEN known for its more hyper-carry approach to the color. This Elder Dragon knows only one thing; sheer power. Nergigante utilizes techniques that gives him more advantage when his HP is low, making him a high-risk high-reward Hero that gives you enough tools to make a proper comeback. Proper HP management is key in winning with this powerful monster.
1.B. Spike Divebomb
AP Cost: 15
Effect: Gives +4/+4 and 'Destroyed after one attack' to a friendly unit.
Remember when I described Rathalos' Dive Attack is an 'all-out assault', and Chun-Li's Kikosho as an 'all-out defense'? This is an example of a 'no-holds barred beatdown' that will smack you silly if you are not prepared as the boost it provides not only provides your unit with enough HP to withstand some of the nastiest opponents, while also giving you a chunky Attack boost that will shake to the core of anyone who come against this beast unprepared. Works well to use on Units with Revenge and Death effects, as well as to be given towards units that can't attack at all as they can serve as a powerful meat shield. This also works as a defensive strategy as the boost is enough to withstand at least one attack.
2.B. Spike Launch
AP Cost: 20
Effect: Deals split damage to all enemy units in play equal to the number of Health lost through Sacrifice effects (stacks up to 12 damage).
Sacrifice is a mechanic that lets you pay Health when playing a certain Unit or Action Card. This can put you at a disadvantage if you are not well-resourced with other cards that replenish Health. This skill is pretty useful to make a powerful comeback, however, as most Nerg decks with Spike Launch play a lot of Sacrifice cards, making it easy to stack them up in your favor. Use this along with cards that Destroy other units and you are golden.
3.B. Change Form
AP Cost: 25
Effect: If your Health is 15 or less, give all Unit cards on your hand and EX Pocket +2/+2.
Sounds good on paper but if you want to use it in a Ranked environment, then prepare to have a bad time as it's considered to be the worst Hero Art in the game. Not only because it has a hefty AP cost, but you have to make a Deck that revolves around the gimmick of lowering your health while having enough Units in your hand and EX Pocket to make it work. You can use this on a Revenge-centric deck, but Bringer of Nightmares is a lot better to use for that kind of deck. The HP requirement is also too steep as your opponents could also be able to smidge up some strategies before you do, meaning that you are in a lose-lose situation on most cases. It CAN work, but you have to be VEEEEEEERY careful when trying to manage your HP and AP costs.
C. Akuma (from Street Fighter)
Relentless and having a desire to fight the strongest warriors out there, Akuma relies on the Ascended ability to deal retribution against his foes, while also having some powerful destroy capabilities and utility to escape certain doom. He is the third Black Hero to be introduced and was first unveiled in the 2019 TEPPEN World Championships. He has become one of the fiercest characters to ever grace the game, and his Hero Arts are some of the more powerful ones as well due to its sheer will and awesome winning capabilities it provides.
1.C. Raging Demon
AP Cost: 23
Effect: Activates the <Ascended> effect of a friendly unit whose <Ascended> ability has yet to be activated, and then destroy the enemy unit in front of it. (Ascended is an effect that requires you to put the unit with Ascended on top of another unit to activate its Ascended ability)
Some people would claim this skill as 'busted' due to the many Black Ascended cards that was released during his debut, and it's clearly a reason as to why he's a very powerful character in the first place. Also, his destruction effect bypasses powerful effects like Veil and Shield, so this makes him pretty deadly if you don't have an answer to it.
2.C. Sekia Kurtesuha
AP Cost: 20
Effect: Destroy all units with 4 HP or less.
Has potential, but this also destroys your units. Just use something else.
3.C. Ashura Senku
AP Cost: 16
Effect: Grants Veil and damage immunity to a friendly unit. Both effect lasts 10 seconds. The unit chosen for this Hero Art is also placed at an empty board slot.
Looks good on paper and looks good if you manage to build a deck around it. Great for aggro decks and decks that utilizes buffs to power up your units. Keep in mind that they are still prone to destruction effects should they get targeted by one through cards like Sample Collection and Hero Arts like Raging Demon.
And finally...
D. Oichi (from Sengoku Basara)
The latest Black Hero included in the game which had a lot of tools going on. She can either deal damage to enemies based on her destroyed units, call them from the grave to do her bidding, or use Death effects to her advantage. Also, Spirits are her best friend, with tons of them being capable of supporting most of Oichi's Hero Arts, which makes her an even deadlier adversary. After all, every rose has its thorns.
1.D. Dancing Dead
AP Cost: 23
Effect: Deals damage to an enemy unit equal to the number of Unit Cards in your Graveyard. If that unit is destroyed by this Hero Art, your Hero gains 3 Life.
Not really used but it has some advantages especially if you are using a deck that throws away cards from the Deck to the Graveyard. But that setup alone makes it more risky to use this Hero Art as you rather need to fight to win than build up your Graveyard but only to swipe the victory away from you in the last minute.
2.D. Despair, wail, and perish!
AP Cost: 28
Effect: Bring back three black unit cards with 4 MP or less from the Graveyard to the field. All friendly units gain +1/+1.
THIS is what makes Oichi very dangerous. She can use her cards to setup her grave, only to bring them back on the field more powerful than ever. The AP cost is reasonable too as having enough AP early on would make this Hero Art pretty abusable. This is her most used Hero Art in PVP and it shows.
3.D. Dark Invitation
AP Cost: 14
Effect: Activate the Death effect of a friendly unit.
Only a few friendly units can utilize this Hero Art to their advantage and that are those who has Death effects, duh, which makes the Hero Art pretty restrictive in its use. A lot of good Black cards have great Death effects too, however, so it can be a niche option to consider when you want to utilize her in a way that is outside her more popular Hero Art.
All in all, Black is a solid color to consider if you are more of a player that really wants to pump in the pressure. It's also considered one of the most powerful colors at the moment and it goes without saying due to the many tools that these Heroes can provide when it comes to achieving victory.
And that is all for this series of TEPPEN for Dummies. If there is anything related to TEPPEN that you want me to tackle, then feel free to let me know. In the meantime, the Land of Illusion beckons your arrival, stranger!
Stay safe and God bless your day! :)